Naruto of the Akatsuki
by bad girl 61
Summary: I adopted this story from my fellow author, SwordofallCreation. Expect slow updates. I cant make good chapters in a day, it takes me time between college and updating stories. Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, I don't own Naruto, but guess what neither do you.


Chapter 1: Welcome to the Akatsuki!

From far away, Konohagakure appeared festive and enjoyable. With banners and colored lanterns of every type, and stalls, shops opening for games and confectionaries, and happy couples and friends celebrating, any foreigner or stranger would be enthralled by the party that was being held in Konoha.

Yet, if one were to look closer into the dark back alleys, they would see a far more horrid sight. They would be disgusted by what was transpiring. For today was October 10th, the very same day that the Fourth Hokage had given his life to stop the rampage of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, which was also coincidentally the day a certain blond-haired boy with azure eyes and whisker marks on his cheeks was born that day. His name was Naruto Uzumaki.

Today was the annual Kyuubi Festival, as well as the day of the annual beating of our certain blond. Every year, during the Kyuubi Festival, he would be beaten, kicked, punched, stabbed, spit at, thrown, clobbered, and more until he was half-dead. The only reason he survived all of these beatings was because of his monstrous healing rate.

This year was the 8th year that his had happened to the blond, and it seemed as if it was turning out to be very similar to the past years. Running away from the mob that was baying for his blood, he had no choice but to duck and hide in the alleyways. Unfortunately, there were villagers waiting for him in there as well. As the villagers in the alley held him down, the mob came ever closer to Naruto, slowly descending on him as vultures would on carcass. Naruto kicked and yelled, but the ones holding him down were still stronger than him, despite their drunken state. He almost gave up as he looked up at the mob with eyes full of fear, thinking his life would end tonight.

Watching from above were two people cloaked in dark robes that had red clouds on them was watching the young Uzumaki's plight. The first one had a leaf headband with a slash going through it, and onyx eyes along with black hair that was held a bit in a small ponytail. The second figure had a headband with the symbol for Kirigakure, and like his companion, had a slash going through the symbol. On his back was a huge bundle wrapped in cloth that had a handle at the end. He also had blue skin and blue hair, along with sharp teeth and gills to finish his shark-like appearance. These men were Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki of the Akatsuki, a group that was comprised of shady members that were mainly S-class missing-nins and unclear goals. As they watched, the one named Itachi was currently in turmoil as to what he should do.

Itachi was a mass murderer. He had killed off his entire clan, sparing only his little brother because he could not bring himself to strike down his brother that he had cared for and grown up with. At that time, he had called it a moment of weakness. Now that weakness was showing itself again as he was confused as to whether disobey orders and help Naruto or to do as ordered and simply observe. He thought that he had given up all of his ties in Konoha after he left, but it appeared he could not break his promise that he had made to his sensei, Kushina Uzumaki, and was at a loss for what to do.

Kisame was Itachi's partner, and had been so ever since that snake Orochimaru had betrayed the Akatsuki. Never in his long partnership with the Uchiha had he ever seen him so distraught. No matter how much he tried to hide his feelings behind an uncaring mask, Kisame knew Itachi was struggling. Personally, he was just about as ready as Itachi to go and help Naruto as well. Back in his home village, he had been shunned and jeered at because of his unique looks. This little brat in front of him gone through the same exact same hells as Kisame and more. The fact that he always got up afterwards and had the same optimistic outlook on life surprised Kisame all the more. Any normal person would have long gone either insane or angry at the world. For that, the brat had Kisame's respect. And very, very few people had ever been given his respect.

As the strange pair was pondering over what to do, they barely heard the blonde croak with their enhanced senses as the mob drew ever closer. _"Help, please…" _was all Naruto managed to say before the mob blocked him of from the two Akatsuki members. Those two words were the final push that Itachi needed to be propelled into action. "Neh, Itachi, what do you think we should-"was all Kisame managed to get out before the Uchiha leapt down in front of the mob. "And there he goes again. But honestly, this time I can't really blame him." As Itachi looked at the mob, Kisame decided to join him.

The mob was a bit surprised by the appearance of the two Akatsuki. They were rarely stopped by any ninja. If anything, some of the more drunk and angry ninja joined them. But that shock was quickly overridden by their drunkenness and hatred. "Step aside shinobi, we're here to kill that demon brat!" "Yeah!" "Why are you siding with the Kyuubi brat? He's a demon!"

Itachi shook his head as he heard the mob's calls and curses. Although at first glance he seemed calm, his eyes smoldered with anger at the injustice and idiocy of the villagers. "This_is the village that I killed my entire clan to save?!" _Itachi could barely comprehend the stupidity and hatred of the villagers. He clenched his fists as he remembered some of the tortures Naruto had gone through when he was younger. The KI (killing intent) that Itachi let out to the villagers was immense. Even Kisame was a bit unnerved at the amount of KI that Itachi was giving the villagers, but then he thought about Naruto, and gave them the same treatment as Itachi.

The combined KI caused many present to begin hallucinating about their deaths, and many others began to lose all control of their bodily functions. Itachi turned away from them and spoke a single word that was ice cold and filled with venom. "Leave." That one word was enough to send all of the mob members running off panicked and fearful for their lives.

Itachi let out a sigh as the mob left. He and Kisame were supposed to keep a low profile in Konoha. He had taken a risk by stopping the mob as he had. When he looked back to Naruto, bruised and battered, he decided that the risk had been worth it. He slowly walked towards Naruto. Noticing this, Naruto snapped out of his daze and curled himself into a tighter ball and slowly backed away from Itachi and Kisame. "S-stay away! Don't get any closer!" Naruto cried out.

Kisame could only shake his head in frustration. All of the betrayals and hurt he had felt from the villagers would obviously have resulted in him becoming paranoid. Itachi attempted to soothe Naruto." It's alright, Naruto. We're not going to hurt you."

"You're lying! Just like all of those other villagers who said they would be my friend and just betrayed me in the end!" Naruto had suffered the pain of betrayal many times over, and did not want to ever feel it again.

"That's not true. Like I said, we're only going to help you." Itachi extended his hand towards Naruto.

Naruto finally grabbed the hand that Itachi gave, albeit with a wary look in his eyes. Itachi smiled at this. Kisame just stood there with his mouth hanging as he had just seen his partner _smile_! "Now then let's get those injuries of yours checked." Naruto simply shook his head. "Why not?"

"Because every time I go into that stupid hospital, they just kick me out, although sometimes they hurt me first." Naruto stated in a bitter tone. Itachi's eyes widened as he remembered that the treatment that Naruto had been given here was given to him everywhere in Konoha. Then he thought of an idea that could work, but it would get him in a lot of trouble. He mentally shrugged at this thought. It wasn't as if he could get in much more trouble from Leader if he had already disobeyed his orders and helped Naruto.

"Kisame, I have an idea. Come over here." Kisame walked over to Itachi and listened as Itachi whispered his plan to Kisame.

Once he finished his explanation, Kisame's eyes widened as he thought of what that would mean. Then he sighed. "Well, Itachi, it seems that you have either had a stroke of genius or have gone completely crazy," Kisame scratched the back of his head. "But it's not like we can get in much more trouble for disobeying orders. So I'll stand by you if this is really what you think we should do."

Itachi simply smirked as he realized that Kisame had gone through the same thought process as he had. It was the best option for Naruto at the moment, as he had just about no one and nothing in the village. "So, Naruto, do you want to come with us?" Itachi questioned.

"Where are you going, Mr. Uhhh,"

"I'm Itachi Uchiha and this here is my partner, Kisame Hoshigaki." Itachi stated as he pointed at himself then Kisame, who simply gave a toothy grin with his sharp teeth, looking like a shark.

"So where are you going Itachi-san?" Naruto asked with a small voice.

"We're going to take you away from this village for a little while," Itachi replied truthfully. "Kisame and I belong to a big organization, and we might get in trouble for helping you, so we kind of want you to help convince our leader."

Naruto thought about this for a little bit until that they had been truthful from the beginning, so there was no problem in trusting them.

"Can I say goodbye to Teuchi-san and Ayame-nee san?" Naruto looked up at Itachi. Itachi simply nodded.

As the blonde ran off to his favorite ramen shop, Itachi and Kisame looked at his receding back. "This is really one messed up village, huh Itachi?" Kisame remarked.

"Hn." Was all Itachi replied to that.

When Naruto reached Ichiraku's Ramen, he burst inside and saw Teuchi. "Oh Naruto, you're here. You want some ramen?" Teuchi said as it was rare for Naruto to come during a Kyuubi festival.

Naruto shook his head. "Nah, I'm just here to say goodbye. Some really nice misters named Itachi and Kisame said they were going to take care of me." At hearing this, Teuchi raised an eyebrow. He was further shocked when Itachi walked inside the stall. Ayame walked out from the back with a bowl of ramen in her hands and was as shocked as her father when she saw Itachi. Naruto saw Ayame and jumped up. "Ayame-nee san! Hi!"

Teuchi finally gathered himself and took a deep breath. "Naruto, could you step outside for a moment please?" Teuchi asked as he continued to glare at Itachi. When Naruto complied, Teuchi refocused his glare on Itachi. "Now, I don't know what you're trying to do with Naruto, but I swear, if Naruto gets hurt-"

Itachi held out a hand to stop Teuchi's tirade. "When Naruto first met me, I saved him from the mob too long ago." At hearing this, Teuchi's glare softened. "But if you truly care for Naruto, why didn't you simply take him in yourself?" Teuchi sighed at Itachi's question.

"I have tried to do so on multiple occasions, but you know how those fools on the civilian council are like." Teuchi grumbled.

"Trust me; I know what they are like all too well." Itachi spat out the words bitterly.

After all, the advisors and Danzo had forced Itachi to massacre to kill his entire clan.

Teuchi nodded his understanding at this. "I trust that you will take care of Naruto?" Itachi nodded. "Good, then we have an understanding."

Outside with Naruto, Kisame was leaning against the side of Ichiraku's Ramen. He saw all of the looks that Naruto was getting, as well as the curses that they yelled at him. When they started throwing things however, Kisame let out small burst of KI at them and made them all go scampering away.

As Itachi finished his conversation with Teuchi, the ANBU corps began to come down. "Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha, you are to come with us to the Third Hokage."

Naruto blew a raspberry at them. "Are you guys still angry that I turned all of your uniforms pink? Or is this about the itchy powder incident?"

When Naruto finished talking, Kisame was on the ground rolling in laughter, while Itachi was simply smiling at the blonde's antics. _"So much like his mother," _Itachi thought.

The Anbu corps did not take this as well as the Akatsuki pair. "Shut up Kyuubi brat! We weren't speaking to you!" One of the more irate Anbu shouted.

Itachi's anger limits had been nearing their breaking points very quickly since he first saw the mob chase after Naruto. After hearing this, it was the last straw. He wouldn't stand for Naruto's constant physical and verbal beatings. "SO THE THIRD WANTS TO SEE US? THEN TELL HIM TO COME TO US! AND DON'T YOU DARE EVER CALL NARUTO THAT EVER AGAIN!" Itachi shouted at them. Then he walked up to the ANBU who had yelled at Naruto and looked right into his eyes. "**Tsukuyomi**." Itachi whispered as his eyes turned into the Mangekyo Sharingan.

Inside of Itachi's **Tsukuyomi**, time and space were controlled by the caster, so Itachi could make the ANBU suffer all kinds of pain in what would barely be any time in the real world. 72 hours in the **Tsukuyomi** was the equivalent of one second in the real world. Therefore, Itachi could show the ANBU his worst fears over and over again… for 72 hours.

After exactly one second passed, the aforementioned Anbu slumped to the ground, unconscious. Shocked at the speed at which it had all happened, the members of the Anbu retrieval squad stood there, rooted in place. Not sparing a backwards glance, Itachi kept on walking. "Come, Kisame, Naruto, it appears as though the Third wants to see us." Itachi stated in a flat tone. Naruto followed, realizing that he should probably say his goodbyes to jiji as well. Kisame was just dumbfounded, as he had seen the normally completely stoic Uchiha laugh and yell in the same day. It was usually hard enough to get him to do one of the two in a week.

With the help of several quick **Shunshins** and Kisame carrying Naruto, the trio made it to the Hokage tower in good time. As they approached the office of the current hokage, no one stopped them, mainly because there was no one working on a festival day like this. Itachi walked into the office, the door having been already open. Kisame decided to pull Naruto back, for he didn't want anyone in the cross-fire of Itachi's wrath.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had been fighting the never ending battle against paperwork when Itachi had stepped in. It was days like these that he wished that he could simply resign and hand the job to someone else. "Please close the door behind you, Itachi." Sarutobi requested.

Itachi closed the door softly behind him. "Tell your Anbu to leave. We have things to discuss."

The third simply raised a hand, and four figures that had been hiding in the shadows popped out and stood in a protective formation around the Hokage. "Lord Hokage, is this really alright?" was the question of one worried Anbu that had long purple hair, a mask that looked like a cat, and a katana strapped to her back along with the standard Anbu uniform. Sarutobi simply nodded his head in response. At this, the other three Anbu disappeared in a flurry of leaves.

However, the Anbu with the katana had remained behind and faced Itachi. "Itachi." She stated in a flat tone.

"Yugao." Was the response she received from Itachi, in a similar tone.

"That's enough Yugao, you can leave now." Sarutobi stated before the situation could escalate any more.

"On the contrary, I believe that this has everything to do with her, as one of Kushina-sensei's students." Itachi replied. Yugao stood stiff after hearing that. She, Itachi, and Tenzo had been part of team 8 when Kushina Uzumaki had led that team. She had not been referred to as that ever since Itachi had left. Thus, it brought up the question as to what was going on.

Sarutobi made a hand seal and activated a **Silencing Seal**. He let out a sigh. "I know that you have questions you want answered Itachi."

"Many."

"Before I say anything else, Yugao, remember that what we are discussing here is an S-class secret," Sarutobi took a long draw from his pipe and exhaled smoke. "First of all, I am not surprised as much as I should be by your presence Itachi because Jiraiya's spy network kept me informed of your sporadic checks on Naruto."

"Hn." The toad sage's spy network was infamous throughout the Elemental Countries, just as much as his perverted novels were.

"Secondly, neither I, nor anyone else has been allowed to take custody for Naruto and care for him because of the civilian council." Hiruzen spat at the last words with scorn. "They view Naruto as a 'demon' that should be executed. It's been everything that can do to keep Naruto inside Konoha and keep Danzo's hands off of him and turn him into ROOT operative."

Itachi's mood grew darker at the mention of the Civilian Council member and secretive leader of ROOT. Danzo had been one of the Konoha elders who had forced him to slaughter his entire clan, save for Sasuke. The man was well known for his cold methods in training his operatives; raising two together then having one kill the other, much like the graduation method of the "Bloody" Hidden Mist. He usually brainwashed his ROOT members and had them erase all emotions.

"That is why I want to you to take Naruto with you to the Akatsuki and protect him." Itachi was brought out of his musings by this, and was surprised that the Third was asking him to do this. Similarly, Yugao was very shocked that the Hokage would give Itachi custody of Naruto.

Itachi gave a wry smile to Sarutobi. "Everything that I have ever done has been for Naruto's sake. From my time in the Anbu as his protection detail, to even the murder of my clan, who held blind hatred against the Nine-Tails, I have done everything for Naruto so that he could be safe." Itachi smiled at the memory of his teacher asking him to keep Naruto safe.

_Flashback…_

"_Hey, gather up all of you, -ttebane!" the loud voice of Kushina Uzumaki brought all of the members of team 8 dashing to their sensei._

"_What is it, Kushina-sensei?" this came from a younger Yugao who still had her signature katana strapped to her back._

"_Yeah, what's so important that you had to have all of us run here?" the tired voice of Tenzo voiced the entire group's question again._

_The third member, a much younger Itachi Uchiha, remained quiet as he waited for his sensei to answer._

"_W-well, I won't be leading you guys for a while…" Kushina stammered._

"_EHH!" was the synchronized cry from Tenzo and Yugao. "But, why?!"_

_Kushina blushed and scratched her head, unable to get the words out. The two yellers would have probably been questioning Kushina the entire day had it not been for Itachi's input._

"_You're pregnant, aren't you, Kushina-sensei?"_

_Kushina simply nodded at his remark and left Tenzo shocked while Yugao cheered for their sensei._

"_S-so, I wanted to tell you guys that I'll be on maternal leave for a while and that you guys will be working with a different jonin. I also wanted to ask you guys that when my child is born, you'll take care of him or her, alright?"_

_Yugao and Tenzo quickly responded with a resounding "Hai!" Itachi simply smiled at the thought of his sensei's child and agreed as well, leaving Tenzo even more shocked at the smile Itachi had given. _

"_Thank you, all of you." _

_Flashback end…_

"I would never leave Naruto to the wolves here if I could. I can't really blame you, Yugao, or Tenzo because of the duties that you were given inevitably kept you away from Naruto. That's why I will take care of Naruto and make sure he receives the care and love he should have gotten from the beginning!" Itachi's passionate speech brought a smile to Hiruzen's face and to Yugao's face as well.

"Although, incidentally, I had been planning on taking Naruto with me even if you had tried to stop me." Sarutobi grew more relaxed as he realized that Itachi truly had Naruto's best interests at heart. He found another smile forming on his weary face as Itachi turned to walk out the door and with Naruto to a new start.

Then he remembered that he had forgotten something. "Wait, Itachi." Itachi turned his head and wondered what the Third would say. "Could I just ask that you could bring Naruto back to attend the Academy for a bit so that he can become a shinobi?"

Itachi mused upon this and came to a rather quick decision. "Agreed, I think that it might be good for him to be around children his age later on. However, the negatives could still outweigh the positives, what with the elder generation trying to get their children to hate Naruto as well. But I suppose I have no choice, what with Naruto's dream to become Hokage." Itachi finally left as the Third Hokage undid the **Silencing Seal. **

Meanwhile, moments before…

Naruto was feeling a bit miffed that he had been pulled out of a talk by Kisame again. He wanted to say goodbye to jiji before he left because his jiji had taken care of him the best he could, what with his workload. He had even treated Naruto to Ichiraku's every once in a while when he had time. As such, he decided to take his frustration out on Kisame.

"So, what are you doing here, Shark Face-san?" Naruto stated his question with a smile that seemed innocent, while his voice held a small bit of humor in it. Yet it was enough for the S-ranked ninja to notice.

Kisame heard it and grinned, glad that Naruto had gotten comfortable enough in Itachi and his presence enough to make jokes. He decided to answer back with a tease of his own. "Just staying with Itachi as his partner, gaki."

Naruto stuck out his tongue at Kisame's last comment. "I am not a brat, you freaky fish!"

Kisame's forehead grew a tick mark as he was annoyed by Naruto's jibe. "Whatever, I'm just waiting for Itachi to finish his meeting. You do realize that there's a good chance that we won't be back for a while, or might not even be back at all, right?"

Naruto grew gloomy as he thought about the Leaf village. It was true, this trip with Itachi and Kisame would probably be take a long while, and he wasn't bothered by that. After all, what he lived in could hardly be called anything better than a hell hole. But the real question was, were there anyone that would miss him?

"Well, I guess that isn't much of a problem, seeing as there's virtually no one in Konoha who cares about me," Naruto mumbled. True, there were people such as the Third, Teuchi, and Ayame who truly cared for him, but they were part of minority that was overwhelmed by the large majority of villagers who hated his guts.

The blue-faced Akatsuki realized Naruto's thought process, as he had gone through right before he had left his village to join the Akatsuki. So it was obvious to him that Naruto held sadness in his for far too long, at such a young age when he should be enjoying the naiveté and happiness that comes from an unburdened childhood. Instead, he had been weighed down by the hatred and anger the entire village had given him, in addition to the times when they had tried to kill him.

"Hey, Naruto," Kisame's voice caught Naruto's attention and brought him out of his sulking. "I can relate to what you have to do right now. I had to go through a decision similar to yours in my life. So before you make any rash decisions, think about your life and what _you_ want. In my opinion, you should take this choice and get away from this village, even if it's just for a little while so that you can escape these glares full of hate that these ignorant fools give you." Kisame ruffled Naruto's hair while he was crouching down to look at Naruto, making Naruto get a little irritated by Kisame's actions, but still paying attention. Kisame gave the small blonde a bright smile. "And besides, you still have Itachi and me right here with you. We'll stand right beside you no matter what." Naruto grew happier at that and turned around to see Itachi walk out of the Hokage's office.

"Hey, Itachi-nii-san!" Naruto called out.

Itachi walked up to Naruto. "Let's go Naruto."

Naruto nodded. "Okay! Bye jiji!" the last sentence had been directed at Sarutobi.

Sarutobi's face was one that could be described as sad, yet also relieved at the same time. He was sad because he knew that it would be a while before he could see Naruto again. However, he was also relieved because he knew that Naruto would no longer be targeted by the village and would be safe by being surrounded by many S-class ninjas that were dangerous in their own right. "Goodbye to you to, Naruto-kun."

Itachi, Naruto and Kisame left the office and began their journey out of Konoha. At seeing them leave, Sarutobi rubbed his forehead again. "Sigh, I guess it's time to get back to paperwork." The old man looked at the ever growing pile of papers on his desk that threatened to overwhelm him.

Away from the Hidden Leaf village…

"Naruto, Kisame, we've arrived." Itachi called out to his companions.

"Already? That was fast." Kisame stated.

Itachi shrugged this off and walked up to the sealing formula that kept the Akatsuki main base away from prying eyes. "**Kai**," he said. The seal was released and the entrance to the Akatsuki base was revealed.

Naruto had starry eyes at this. "Whoa, that was so cool!"

Itachi chuckled at Naruto's awe and opened the door.

"Now then… welcome to the Akatsuki, Naruto."

**Whew, chapter 1 is complete! You have no idea how difficult this was for me to write, considering this is my first fanfiction I've written. I got this idea simply from one stray thought in my head. Seriously, I've even been thinking about a Naruto fic where Naruto grows up in Kumo, just so he can use Mabui's Ethereal Transmission Jutsu and Hiraishin in tandem. Anyways, thanks for reading!**


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